25 October 2018

Proposed new rules on short-term lets a welcome development in efforts to address homelessness

COPE Galway has today welcomed Minister Eoghan Murphy’s announcement of the tightening of rules in respect of residential units being used for short term holiday lets in areas of high housing demand such as Galway.

The Galway-based charity has been to the fore in calling for such measures to be introduced to stem the loss of housing units to the short term holiday letting market through platforms such as AirBnB.

This announcement comes on the back of Wednesday evening’s publication by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government of the latest homeless figures which show another increase in the numbers of people homeless and living in emergency accommodation both nationally and in the West region. These latest figures report a total of 497 people in emergency accommodation in the West region including 76 families during the week of September 24th to 30th 2018.

“This is a very welcome announcement and we hope that it will make a real difference at a local level here in Galway” said Martin O’Connor of COPE Galway. “The loss of so many residential units to the short term holiday letting market in Galway when we have so many families and individuals across the community struggling to find a home simply has to be addressed and we hope that these proposed measures will do this”.

“Although it is difficult to get an accurate picture of the numbers of housing units in full time use for short-term holiday letting purposes, a simple point in time search which we conducted earlier this week showed 50 complete dwelling units advertised as available on AirBnB compared to 66 rental dwellings advertised on Daft.ie in Galway City. This gives some idea of how significant an issue it is at a local level” said Mr O’Connor. “We know that this won’t resolve the homelessness situation and housing shortage we face here in Galway but any measure that will bring more housing units into use to meet need is very welcome”.

Ends.

Note to Editor:

COPE Galway is a local Galway Organisation whose vision is an “Improved Quality of Life in a Home of your Own” for people affected by homelessness, women and children experiencing domestic violence, and older people.

In 2017 COPE Galway worked with 1012 adults and 576 children affected by homelessness in Galway, including 242 families and 695 single people. They also worked with 339 individual women and 214 children experiencing Domestic Violence; delivered almost 50,000 meals on wheels to Older Clients around Galway & supported 1,740 individuals through the FEAD programme (Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived).

The organisation joins the national call for solutions to end the housing and homeless crisis. However, while national solutions are being progressed, COPE Galway believes that more immediate solutions can be put in place at a local level.For more information:

COPE Galway is a local Galway charity whose vision is for an “Improved Quality of Life in a Home of your Own” for people affected by homelessness, women and children experiencing domestic abuse, and older people in our community.